1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to an automatic product price payment counter which allows a purchaser to select at least one product and to calculate and pay for the price of the product to be purchased in locations, such as discount markets.
In more detail, the present invention relates to an automatic product price payment counter including an input device for inputting information about one or more products to be purchased by detecting a barcode attached on each of the products, an output device for displaying the information about the input products and performing the respective steps of paying for the price of the products, and a control device for performing comparison and determination on the information input from the input device with information about corresponding products stored in a product information DataBase (DB), and controlling the functions of the output unit. The input device includes a weight measurement unit including a first balance and a second balance configured to respectively measure the weight of the products, and a cash slot and a card slot provided to pay for the price of the products using cash and a card, respectively. The output device includes a cash change slot configured to refund change after the price of the products has been paid in cash, and a blocking unit configured to include an entrance blocking unit and an exit blocking unit which are provided on first sides of entrance and exit doors of the counter, respectively, and which control opening and closing of the corresponding doors.
The control device controls the output device so that the output device performs each of steps of paying for the price of the products if the total weight of the products measured by the first balance is identical with the total weight measured by the second balance and if the unit weight of each of the products is identical with information stored in the product information DB, controls the exit blocking unit of the exit door so that a purchaser can leave if the payment for the price of the products, the information about which has been input using the product checking unit, has normally completed and various types of receipts are output from the output device, and controls the entrance blocking unit so that a next purchaser who is waiting at the outside of the entrance door can approach the counter if the exit blocking unit blocks the exit door after the purchaser goes out.
2. Description of the Related Art
Generally, the products, displayed in distribution centers, such as various types of discount markets, have a barcode recording information (hereinafter, referred to as “basic information”) about the item, weight, and unit price of each of the products. In the case of agricultural and marine products which have not had measured the unit price for the weight thereof and which have not been packed, there are devices for instantaneously measuring the weight of such a product, inputting the unit price of the product given based on the measured weight, and generating the barcode corresponding to the product, so that a purchaser is guaranteed being able to freely select a desired product and being able to purchase the product on which a barcode recording basic information about the corresponding product is attached.
As described above, the price of the product which is directly selected by the purchaser is calculated in such a way that a clerk, who is in charge of the calculation of the price of the product at a counter provided on one side of a store, inputs the basic information of the product recorded in the barcode of the corresponding product using the input device of a product price calculator, and the calculated price is paid in cash or using various types of cards through the dialogue between the purchaser and the clerk who is in charge of the calculation of the price in the store.
The method of calculating the price of a product according to a conventional art performed in distribution centers, such as discount markets, through the dialogue between a purchaser and a clerk who is in charge of the calculation has an advantage in that extemporaneous remarks are easily taken into consideration according to the business conditions in effect in such a store.
However, the burden of personnel expenses increases from the point of view of the expenses for managing the entire store, thereby decreasing sales profits.
Further, the method of calculating the price of a product according to the conventional art has the fatal problem of increasing both distribution and household expenses, thereby bringing a vicious cycle of frugality down upon society.
In particular, the industry is in the situation of medium/large-sized discount stores being jumbled up and enterprises, the existence of which is threatened due to heated competitive pricing, increasing. Herein, a method of providing good-quality services while reducing the burden of personnel expenses in order to reduce costs inside has been becoming an urgent task to be solved.